Motoring My best mate's Mum...

[Jupitus]

... is like a mother to me too. She's a lovely lady

Now then... she went and managed to stack her car which is now a write off. My task is to help her find a suitable set of wheels at a reasonable price, which is why I am asking here for advice.

Criteria:

5 door hatchback
1.4 or 1.6
Nearly new, ie 2-3 years old
Reliable manufacturer

She does have a budget, but I'm really not sure how much she will need for this... if there is something around the 8k mark that would seem about right but I am a bit out of touch on this stuff right now.

I know plenty of you are opinionated on the motors of the age, so let's hear what ideas and suggestions you can come up with please!

 

[Jupitus]

Just looked up a 2010 reliable manufacturer list thus:

1. Honda
2. Subaru
3. Mitsubishi
4. Lexus
5. Toyota
6. Mazda
7. Nissan
8. Skoda
9. Kia
10. Mini


Something from that list, I guess please...

 

[throdgrain]

I didnt know you could buy cars that small! 1.4?? Thats for motorbikes I thought


Joking aside, Mazdas are about the most reliable cars I have ever heard of, but that's as far as my opinion goes

 

[Tom]

She could get a nice late eighties Porsche 928 for that. 4.0 V8 automatic, 2 doors, cruise control, central locking, power seats, leather, the lot.

 

[Jupitus]

She could get a nice late eighties Porsche 928 for that. 4.0 V8 automatic, 2 doors, cruise control, central locking, power seats, leather, the lot.

*dreams*

Shame, eh?

 

[russell]

If you need someone to check out that its not a dud Mr Russell can do that for you -think we live quite close to each other?

 

[Jupitus]

Thanks Russ, that might be very handy! We are just over in Camberley, that's right... in fact, Colonel K's son (ie my best mate) was also in the choir at St Augustine's many years ago

 

[Jupitus]

Ok - a roundup of a few models I think may suit - any comments or experience with these?

Mazda 3

Mazda 3 Hatchback (04-08) Car Review - Parker's

Honda Civic

New Honda Civic Hatchback Car Review - Parker's

Mitsubishi Colt (not one of my favs)

Mitsubishi Colt CZT (05-08) Car Review - Parker's

Skoda Fabia (Skoda do rate well for reliability these days, apparently)

New Skoda Fabia Hatchback Car Review - Parker's

Kia C'eed (Stupid name, but decent cars)

New Kia Cee'd Hatchback Car Review - Parker's


Ta

 

[old.Tohtori]

If memory serves me right, civic is a reliable one.

Any of the jap hatchbacks work though, they tend to work well and have little trouble.

Ofcourse you have to run 'em to find out any possible flaws.

 

[Ch3tan]

So Toht; do you have a driving licence?

 

[old.Tohtori]

So Toht; do you have a driving licence?

Go f*ck yourself?

 

[caLLous]

Was that a no?

 

[Ch3tan]

He didn't read my signature, he never does

Sorry Jup, couldn't resist. On topic; is Wij's Focus still for sale?

 

[Bahumat]

The thing is though, having a driving license does not make you an expert on cars.

 

[old.Tohtori]

He didn't read my signature, he never does

You should take your own advice

 

[Jupitus]

Enough of that, thank you ladies

Hmmm... Wij?

 

[ford prefect]

You should be able to get a three year old mazda 3 for a reasonable price - my other half has been driving the saloon version for the past three years - nice car

 

[Jupitus]

You should be able to get a three year old mazda 3 for a reasonable price - my other half has been driving the saloon version for the past three years - nice car

Must admit, of that selection the Mazda is probably my favourite

 

[old.Tohtori]

Sour puss, spoiling our banter

Thing is though, you shouldn't think at all what's your favorite. Waht does she like? What cars has she liked? What would she prefer?

 

[Wij]

My Focus is just about to go on sale

It's 2.0 litre. 5.5 years old. Pretty good nick. Never had an accident (apart from parking scrape which was professionally fixed). Full Ford service. Full option packs (leather, xenons, bass bin etc...) The posh Ford blue.

Might be a little older / faster than requirements but it's a lovely car imo

Looking for about £5,500

 

[Jupitus]

My Focus is just about to go on sale

It's 2.0 litre. 5.5 years old. Pretty good nick. Never had an accident (apart from parking scrape which was professionally fixed). Full Ford service. Full option packs (leather, xenons, bass bin etc...) The posh Ford blue.

Might be a little older / faster than requirements but it's a lovely car imo

Looking for about £5,500

Cheers Wij - if it was my money it would be a no-brainer I think, but sadly not.

Toht - I'm offering her suggestions, not choosing... the Mazda being my favourite is for this audience, not her.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Toht - I'm offering her suggestions, not choosing... the Mazda being my favourite is for this audience, not her.

Misunderstood, my bad.

 

[Vae]

We recently bought a new Kia C'eed to replace our beat up 8 year old ex-police Focus and have been impressed with it by far. The new price was about the same as for a 1 year old price as well hence going new.
The car came top of it's class in the JD power survery and was 3rd or 4th overall. Also the 7 year warranty (which is not restricted to original owner unlike the Vauxhall offer) was a major selling point. No the most exciting of cars but practical and cost effective. It's nice haivng a car where things just work!

 

[Jupitus]

We recently bought a new Kia C'eed to replace our beat up 8 year old ex-police Focus and have been impressed with it by far. The new price was about the same as for a 1 year old price as well hence going new.
The car came top of it's class in the JD power survery and was 3rd or 4th overall. Also the 7 year warranty (which is not restricted to original owner unlike the Vauxhall offer) was a major selling point. No the most exciting of cars but practical and cost effective. It's nice haivng a car where things just work!

Yes my old friend - the KIA warranty is definitely a consideration given she is looking at the 2-3 yo bracket so although not a glamorous motor it might be in play

 

[Tom]

From that list I'd go for the Kia, mainly because I've never heard a bad word said about their dealers.

 

[old.user4556]

Wij, I love your car. I had a big soft spot for the ST 170 when it first came out given the ace handling of that generation of Focus.

Yours looks mint and has the important leather and xenons, I'd snap that up if I was looking for a very reasonably priced hatchback.

 

[Damini]

We have a Focus. Lovely to drive.

 

[Gumbo]

First off, why has no one asked if she's hot or not? Honestly..

Second off, I've only heard good things about modern Kias too, and even started considering a C'eed for the wifes next car. I think you'll probably have to show her some pictures and then see what you can find in her favourite colour. That's normally seems to be the way it works.

 

[Wij]

Wij, I love your car. I had a big soft spot for the ST 170 when it first came out given the ace handling of that generation of Focus.

Yours looks mint and has the important leather and xenons, I'd snap that up if I was looking for a very reasonably priced hatchback.

Then why aren't you ?

 

[ford prefect]

We have a Focus. Lovely to drive.

I had an original focus, the RS version too - after the first six months it used to handle like a shopping cart after and had a lovely habit of getting "engine management issues" on the motorway and completely cutting out - something that they never managed to fix despite having it in nine times - total engine and electrical failure on a motorway in the fast lane isn't fun.

My partner went in on a saturday ready to pay for the new version not long after they came out - she sat in the show room for nearly an hour being ignored, and then the sales rep asked her to wait for a few minutes while he dealt with a phone call. Half hour later she left, went in to Mazda across the road and gave them £16k instead. Good descision imo.